Golf course pursuit in The Villages caught on camera

LADY LAKE, Fla. (FOX 35 Orlando) - A high-speed car chase led police through a golf course in a Florida retirement community on Sunday.

Lady Lake police released dashboard camera video of the wild ride, where they say two police cruisers chased after a stolen "watch car" in The Villages. The Community Watch SUV was taken at about 9:30 a.m., near the Boone Gate on the Historic Side of The Villages, authorities say.

Officers caught up with the stolen vehicle in the 1800 block of West Schwartz Boulevard. The video shows golf carts swerving out of the way, as the suspect leads police across the greens.

Bil Saxby and his group were playing on hole 16 when the three cars sped past them.

"It was 'Smokey and the Bandit!' The first guy crashed and flew half way down thte hill, hit the gournd, fishtailed to the right. It was crazy!"

One woman playing with Saxby was visiting from up north. When the cars drove by, she was putting at the green. The cars narrowly missed her by two feet, running over her golf towel.

"Holy smokes were we close to getting serioulsy mammed!"

Nehemiah Wolf, the Division Cheif for the Community Watch, said the vehicle taken was a 2018 Ford Escape.

The police report states that the suspect, Jessie Webb; approached the gate at the Orange Blossom Hill Country Club. They said Webb was acting suspipus, and told them someone had eaten his brains.

"He was a little disoriented, walking all around the gate station, walking around the camera," Wolf added. That's when another security vehicle arrived. Wolf said the its standard for the security vehicles to remain running when at an active scene to keep the flashing lights on without killing the cars battery.

Webb jumped in the running car and took off. That's when police were called and followed after the suspect. Wolf says they are taking measures so this doens't happen again.

Webb eventually crashed the vehicle and was arrested. He faces several charges including theft of a motor vehicle.